Aero
by Kirorokat
Summary: A young woman makes her living as the notorious Moon Ghost. Inevitably she meets Vash. But there's much more to her than just a spunky free spirit, more than even she knows. Will she find out who she is? And what if she does? Possible VashxOC later.
1. Chapter 1

So, this is my first and, so far, only, Trigun fanfic. I really appreciate reviews, and, if anyone feels really up to it, story art. I looooove story art! Please enjoy.

* * *

**The Fall**

_The ships rumbled, groaned, and swerved as they lost control and began falling off course. Emergency sirens and red flashing lights filled every room and hallway. Rem, on the mothership, was frantically working at fixing the problem and keeping Vash and Knives safe. However, on another ship, she wasn't the only one not in a sleep chamber._

_"What's happened?" a man shouted, looking around. He wore a white labcoat, like the rest of the personel on the much smaller ship. The man that was in charge of the small crew of the small vessel replied as he ran down the corridor._

_"A virus has been planted in the mothership's control and navigational systems! Rem's working on fixing it, but she might not be able make it in time!" Then he pointed in the direction he'd come from. "Get __**it **__into an emergency shuttle and deploy it immediately!"_

_"Yes sir!"_

_The man ran as quickly as he could, sirens still blaring and an automated voice, saying something about an emergency situation, droning from the reached a room and, upon opening it, entered a smaller version of the meadow that was in the mothership. He ran to the highest place there was (which was only a small hill) and found what he was looking for. _

_"Quickly, come with me!"_

_A little girl, who didn't look much older than about six, looked at him and smiled widely._

_"Okay!"_

_He wound up carrying the child to the shuttle since she couldn't keep up with him._

_"What's happening?" she inquired, sensing something terribly wrong._

_"Sit down and strap yourself into the harness! Don't unbuckle it until you land, no matter what!"_

_She did as she was told, then became panicked as the man started closing the door. "Wait! Wait, aren't you coming, too?"_

_The door closed, and shortly after that there was a jolt as the shuttle detached itself from the main ship and began making its way to the planet. The girl sat back and stared forward at the empty seat in front of her and began to softly cry. She couldn't say that she really liked the people on that ship, because they did what they called "experiments" (if she remembered the word correctly) and they either hurt or made her feel funny. But she didn't like feeling completely and utterly alone, either._

_Suddeny, she heard a frightening noise, and unbuckeld herself to look out the window. She saw a bunch of spaceships explode, including the one she was on only moments ago. Before she could think of much of anything, the shockwave had hit the shuttle she was in, and she was thrown back harshly and her head hit the wall, knocking her unconscious._

**Present Day**

Vash, who had managed to ditch Meryl and Millie (for the moment, anyway), was now sitting at a table in a small restaurant, having arrived in a new town a short while ago. He was near the back of the place, since he had a new bounty on his head, which, coincidentally (or maybe not), was the same offered amount that had been on it before.

"Here's your order, sir."

Looking at the plate set in front of him, Vash's eyes lit up. Four salmon sandwiches lay on the round piece of porcelain. "Great! Thanks very much, ma'am!"

You were strolling leisurely through the town toward a small restaurant that you visited often. It was a place where travellers tended to go so there was often some good tidbits of news to be picked up from anyone who likes to eavesdrop, like you. On your way, several children stopped and said hello to you; you'd been popular with the children from almost the first moment you had arrived in the little town because you took the time to play with them, and every once in a while treat them when you could afford it.

After a few more minutes, you arrived at the restaurant and walked in. A few of the patrons were regulars that lived in the town, and they waved at you, as did the woman behind the counter. You returned their greatings, then, walking toward the woman, looked for a place to sit.

"Crowded today, isn't it, Mary?" you remarked, having no success in finding an empty table.

"Yeah, it's been like this for a couple days now, it's great!" Mary replied with a smile, "The more business, the better!"

"True." Leaning against the counter on the shortest end of the booth where no chairs were, you sighed. "Can I just sit here?"

"No way! That's where the counter lifts up to let me out!"

"I'll move when you need me to!" you argued, "I just wanna sit down while I have somethin' to eat, that's all!"

Mary looked at you apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, but if I got caught letting you do that then I'd probably get fired."

"Fiiiinnne," you sighed dejectedly. Then you looked at Mary with a smirk. "Gimme a smoothie and somethin' to munch on, then, so I'll have something to snack on while I'm being a pest."

Mary dead-panned, then asked, "What kind do you want?"

"Surprise me!"

"You know, one of these days you're gonna start havin' to act your age," Mary scolded playfully, then turned to get your order.

"Yeah, yeah, I... wait a minute!" you exclaimed, "Just how friggin' old do I look?" **Chapter end.**


	2. Chapter 2

Well, here's chapter two of Aero. Not that anyone cares; I didn't get a single review! DX I wonder if anyone even read it? T.T

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Mary ignored you, continuing with your order with a kitty smile (as you called them).

"Mary!"

The regular customers were fairly used to this kind of thing, so they blocked it out, and the newbie travellers were apparently too worried about whatever they were talking about to care.

"Don't _make _me use the voice."

Mary stopped, turned, and looked at you with a You-Wouldn't look on her face.

"Oh I will."

"No way," she said, somewhat doubtfully.

"And the eyes!"

"Please don't..."

"And I'll cry."

At this point one of the customers near the back snickered, muffling it behind his hand.

Vash had been watching the playful bantering between the two young women from the beginning and had been having a hard time containing his snickering.

"And I'll cry."

**Snirk!**

He slapped his hand over his mouth to keep it from getting louder. The woman Mary crossed her arms in an authoritative manner and said, "Now look, you, I..."

'Oh, God, those must be _the eyes_!' Vash thought. Mary's friend had stopped the sentence dead in its tracks by pulling off the biggest, most pathetic puppy-eyes the blond gunman had ever seen. Mary faltered.

"N-now wait a minute...!"

Her friend's eyes were beginning to water. Vash didn't know who to feel more sorry for; Mary, because seriously, who can NOT be affected by such a cute look, or himself, because he felt like he was going to burst if he didn't laugh soon.

"If you do it I won't feed you!"

Now her lip was blubbering. Vash was really reaching his breaking point now, he pounded his fist on his leg and clamped his mouth even tighter.

"I swear to God I...!"

"Maaaaaaaaaarrrrrryyyyyyyyyy!"

Mary's face was priceless as you semi-wailed her name in a whiny voice; it looked like a cross between guilt and annoyance, and you couldn't help but laugh. Not only laugh, but laugh _hysterically. _And you weren't the only one, either; laughter was easily made out from the back of the room, and you walked over there, still clutching your gut, to see who it was.

There was a man rolling on the floor (he'd fallen out of his chair, apparently) clutching his own stomach and trying to get in a breath or two between burst of laughter. He had ink black spiky hair, a red coat, and a tall, somewhat lanky stature.

"It's not funny!" Mary whined, hands on her hips as she stink-eyed both of you.

"Ah! It hurts!" the man exclaimed, still on the floor, "Hahahaha! I can't breathe!"

"Two against one," you retorted, looking back at her with a smirk, "It's hilarious." Mary pouted for a moment before turning to continue with her work. Deciding that you'd pestered her enough for a while, you turned back to the man that was on the floor. He'd managed to bring himself back up on his chair and his laughter had died down, although his eyes were still watering.

'This guy must be pretty stupid to show his face so carelessly in public.'

You'd recognized him as soon as you'd seen his face, and couldn't believe how stupid the other customers must be to have not noticed. Walking up to the side of his table that was next to the booth, you laid your hand on the back of a chair and ask, "May I use this?"

"Sure," he replied, smiling good-naturedly.

"Thanks." Grabbing the chair, you dragged it a little closer to the counter, whirled it around, and sat on it backwards, then turned and said loudly, "Y'know Mary, they should move these stupid drink nozzles here, it'd be a lot easier talkin' to you." Mary, in return, peaked in between the drink dispensers (hence the reason why there were no chairs on that end of the booth as well) and gave you a raspberry, which you returned with a grin. Then, you turned back to the man, who was smirking at your antics.

"You know," you said in a hushed voice, "There _are _a few posters in this town with you face on it, Vash-san."

Vash froze in mid-bite of his sandwich and looked at you in slight alarm, then became extremely bummed out. "T^T Please, if you're gonna turn me in, at least let me finish eating!"

"I'm not gonna turn you in, don't worry!"

Vash's eyes grew so big with gratitude that you would've sworn that he had your puppy-dog eyes beat hands down. Then, Mary came beside you and handed you your food, which consisted of noodle soup, and a milkshake, vanilla flavored.

"So," she said, her voice also quieted to prevent anyone else from hearing, "This is the famous Vash the Stampede?"

"Don't worry," you said quickly, seeing Vash start to get nervous again, "She won't snitch, either. Notice how your posters aren't anywhere in here? Mary believes the same thing I do."

"Which is?" he asked, taking another bite of a sandwich.

"That nobody that can really smile like that could be a bad person," Mary finished, holding out her hand, "It's nice to meet you!"

Vash took her outstretched hand and shook it. "I'm Mary, as you've probably heard, and she's" she jerked her head in your direction "my friend."

Setting your glass on a small space on the counter, you scooched the chair forward, slurped up and swallowed the noodles you were eating, and held out your own hand. "Nice meeting you." **  
**


	3. Chapter 3

Well, here's chapter three.

Thank you **airgearlover **for adding this on your story alerts!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Vash shook your hand with a slightly bewildered expression.

'She hasn't given her name yet,' he thought in confusion, 'And come to think of it, her friend Mary never called her by her name either.' Vash took in your appearance; you wore a blue girl's muscle shirt, black cargo pants, and boots. You wore a studded bracelet of brown leather on each wrist, but other than that you had no jewelry. Your hair was somewhat long and pearlescent white, and your eyes were the same except they were light green. He could tell immediately that you were a tomboy by the way you sat in the chair and how you ate your noodles, and saw that you were pretty fit.

"Sorry, but I didn't quite catch your name...?"

"Oh!" you blurted around a mouth full of noodles, "Sorry! As far as I know, I don't technically have one. You can call me whatever you want, just like everyone else."

"What?"

"She travels a lot," Mary explained, "So a permanent name isn't a necessity, according to her. She just goes by whatever people decide to call her."

"Mary refuses to name me, she says she'll wait until I remember my real name. Although I keep telling her that I'll be leaving town soon."

Mary sighed. "Always the free spirit." With that, she excused herself to go back to work, leaving you and Vash to eat your , having finished his third sandwhich and picking up the fourth, Vash looked up at you and asked, "If it's okay for me to ask, why are you leaving town"

"Hm? Oh, I don't stay anywhere for too long," slurping some of your milkshake from a straw, you continued, "I'll show you why later, if you want." With that, you continued you meal, taking a drink from your shake every once in a while. Your attention was shortly perked by a couple men talking amungst themselves about a topic of some importance to you.

"Hey, j'ya he'r 'bout this s'poss'd spir't flittin' abou' town rec'ntly?" one inquired of his companion, who was taking a gulp of beer.

" 'Eard ment'n of et, ah 'ave," the other replied, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "Goes 'bout snatchin' up money 'n' such fr'm rich fo'k an' th' like."

You kitty smirked around the mouthful of noodles you had and pointedly looked at Vash. Once he noticed you, you cast you glance at the two men and murmered, "Might find out a thing or two about why I never stick around too long." Vash blinked a couple times blankly, then nodded, his eyes darting in the direction of the two gossiping men.

"Yea'," the first agreed, also drinking a beer, "Funny thin' 's, though, th' spir't don' take muj more 'n 'bout 'nough t' keep a man fed fer 'bout a week. Nev'r nuthin' maj'r."

Vash looked back at you in confusion, although he had an idea of what you were trying to point out. You finished the broth of your sloup and set the bowl on the table, sending a mischevous smirk and wink to Vash as you began to finish off your milkshake.

"Oh, by the way, Mary?" you called, turning to th drink dispensers.

"Yeah?"

"How far is the next town from here?"

"Uuumm, about three days by sand-steamer," she replied from the other side.

Slumping down of the table, you sighed deeply.

"Why so depressed all of a sudden?" Vash asked, looking at you curiously.

"I hate steamers," you replied, "They're so crowded and small. I don't like being indoors for very long."

'She's an _odd _one alright,' Vash concluded to himself. Sucking up the last of your milkshake through your straw, you set the glass on the table. Vash had eaten his last sandwich a few minutes ago, and was waiting for you to finish. You stood, and he followed you to the counter as you waved Mary over.

"Do you know when the next steamer heads off?" you asked, any traces of a smirk having vanished upon seeing the look on her face go from contently busy to saddened. She didn't want you to leave at all.

"Yes," she replied, eyes downcast, "The next one leaves for Augusta in two days."

You smiled at her and gave her a gentle smile, holding out your hand as if challenging her to arm wrestle. When she took your hand, you gave hers a small but firm shake. "No tears now. I'll be back before the steamer leaves to see you."

"Okay," she replied, smiling, but you could see her eyes watering. You reached over with your other hand and ruffled her hair, then let go and, walking outside, waved before the door closed. Once outside, you stopped and looked up at the sky. Vash stood slightly behind you in silence, recognizing that you were just as sad about you leaving the town as Mary was.

"Ah!" you exclaimed, suddenly remembering his presence, "I was gonna show you something, wasn't I? This way, then, if you're still interested." With that, you turned 'round and began walking toward the east end of town. Vash, figuring that he didn't have much else to do at that moment, followed closely behind you. After a short while, you reached your destination, which was the town's saloon, more specifically the front wall of it on the left side of the double doors. There was a bulletin board located there, and on it was Vash's bounty poster, along with Knives' and one that didn't have a photo.

"Guess which one's mine?"

"Huh?"

"Oh wow, that look on your face is priceless!" you exclaimed, pointing at his epic comically shocked expression with one hand while clutching your stomach with the other. The look on Vash's face transformed from shock to an extreme pout, and it was directed at you, which just made your giggling fit even worse as you pointed to the poster you wanted him to look at. Walking up to it, Vash read the description:

**WANTED**

**ALIVE**

Thief commonly referred to as "Moon Ghost".

Reward: $$500,000

Description: wears a white cloak, apparently female.

Often targets households of wealthier folk such as nobles, city leaders, etc.

Impersonators will be fined the equivalent of the reward money.

"That's..." Vash started, an eyebrow raised with a slight dead-pan look on his face, "Descriptive."

"Isn't it?" you agreed, playing along with his sarcasm, "I love it! Those bozos are so desperate to catch the Moon Ghost that they actually think something like _that,_" you jerked your head toward the poster "Will actually help? Psh!"

"Then why do you move around so much?"

"People catch on, unfortunately. If you stick around here long enough you'll hear rumors from some people who suspect it's me. They don't have any proof, though," you added, somewhat wryly, "They just don't particularly like me, for various reasons. Well, thanks for keeping me company for a while, it was nice chatting with you, Vash-san!"

Before Vash could reply with anything remotely close to a farewell of his own, a group of four or five kids rounded a corner, looked at you, and ran at you like a storm.

"Onee-chan!"

You did the best you could to brace yourself with the two seconds of time in which you had to do it before you were tackled, bombarded, bull-dozed, and glomped by the hoard of children. **  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Nyaaah!" you squealed, squirming underneath the writhing mass of flailing munchkin limbs, "Not fair! Not fair!"

You could make out Vash's laughter amongst the children's as they called out and demanded that you play with them.

~Time lapse~

You'd managed to ditch the kids and bid your farewell to Vash politely, and you were currently heading "home". Which, as far as you were concerned, was pretty damn good acomodations for being free; there was a roof, a floor, and four walls, although they were severely decrepit. Once you arrived, you carefully pushed open the door so that it didn't fall completely off the few hinges it had been managing to hold onto. Of course, there wasn't anything in the way of decor or anything; you had a sleeping bag and a couple changes in clothes, a travel sack, and a pure white, hooded cloak, which you kept hidden in the sack. Since it was getting dark, you decided to take a nap for a few hours before you brought out your cloak. As you sat down and got under the covers of your sleeping bag, a couple cats and a dog got up from their napping places and curled up next to or on you. The building you were in was a draw for the street's many stray animals.

Scratching each one in turn behind the ears, you put your arm underneath your head and closed your eyes, falling into a doze a few minutes later.

Vash, after saying good-bye to the mysterious young woman, decided that he'd find out more about her, what with her being considered a criminal and all. He also found it strange that there was such a huge reward being offered for someone who was just a thief. So, once he was sure she wouldn't notice him, he started tailing her from the rooftops, and followed her to an abandoned, run-down building of some sort. When she walked in, Vash looked around for a spot at which he could see in to one of the windows. Having found it he planted himself there, and watched as she laid on the floor in a sleeping bag as if to go to sleep, and couldn't help but smile at the sight of some stray cats and a dog making their way over to sleep with her.

'I don't understand, though,' he thought, 'Why would she live here if she steals money from the richest people in the city?'

Deciding that he'd seen enough, Vash quietly made his exit and went off to find an inn to stay at for the next couple days.

~~Time lapse~~

You woke up slowly and opened your eyes groggily, with a huge yawn. Glancing up at the window, you saw that it was well into the night, a perfect time for you to wake up. You noticed immediately that during your slumber more animals had shown up and joined the slumber party when you attempted a stretch, just to find your legs weighed down by a dog's head and the sleeping form of a cat.

After carefully pulling yourself out of the warm comforts of your blanket, you crept over the mass of furry bodies and dug your robe out of your bag. Slipping the white cloth over your shoulders, you peaked out the window carefully to make sure there wasn't anyone around, then made your way to the roof, pulling your hood up as you went. The fact that there wasn't a set of stairs or a ladder made it a somewhat difficult climb, and once you managed to scramble up to the top you had a few new scrapes and bruises.

'I hate being such a klutz.'

You took a deep breath, casting your gaze upward toward the moons and stars as you stood there for a moment. You relished the refreshingly cool breeze before you began running across the rooftop, leaping from one building to another.

"Hey there."

"Gah!" You stumbled as you were about to leap to another roof, which would've caused you to plummet to the ground and break a leg or something had whoever called out to you not caught you by the scruff of your robe. You reflexively tucked your hands and legs up so they weren't uselessly dangling about as you looked up at the perpetrator with a mixture of annoyance and slight fear playing across your face.

"Well, I can definately understand the nickname "Moon Ghost," " he said, and you immediately recognized the person from both the shape of their hair and their voice as none other than Vash the Stampede.

Now, in most situations, most people would say something along the lines of "Huh?", "Wha...?", or, if they managed to recover from the initial shock enough, even "What're _you _doing here?". Such was not the case with you.

"T.T Please pull me up," you whimpered. Vash happily abliged. "Thanks! But might I now ask what you're doing following me?"

Vash, now squatting in front of you just as you were in front of him, scratched his cheek with one finger while looking up in thought. "Well, the poster _did _say you were the Moon Ghost, and I saw something white on a roof, so I decided to follow and see how you did things."

"Really?"

He nodded with a small smile while scratching the back of his head.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah."

"Liar."

At this Vash dead-panned, wondering what he did to make his lie so obvious.

"You were going to try to discourage me from going through with it, right?" He mushroom sighed, then nodded. "Save your breath. This guy's rich as a king, with a snobby attitude to boot that really pisses me off; and I'm not stealing a lot, anyway. Just enough to help us get by a little easier."

"Us?" Vash asked, confused. He hadn't thought you lived with other people. However, he didn't get his unasked question answered, because you had stood erect and replaced your hood, which had slipped off when you fell.

"Sorry, but I'm gonna have to go now. Good night, Vash-san!"

~Time lapse~

"Damn, this guy really _is _rich!"

You sighed for about the fifth time and turned to Vash, who, despite your pleading for him not to do so, had followed you the whole way into the district in which your target lived.

"Vash-san?" you murmered. He looked up at you, waiting for your question. "Please stay here."

"Why?"

'He's so childish sometimes.' "Because I don't wanna be caught. Bullet-tag sucks like hell, the bullets always win."

"You've been shot at before?"

"Yeah, and a lot more of those guys than you'd think have some decent aim with a gun, too." That having been said, you turned back to the building, which was a huge, elaborate mansion. There weren't any guards outside, which meant that the target was either exceptionally stupid, or that there was some serious security on the inside. You really wished it was the first one, but expected the second. "On second, thought, you don't necessarily have to stay _here,_" you murmered, still intently watching the building just in case guards did show up, "The best option would be for you to go back and get some sleep."

"Why do you have to steal like this?" Vash asked seriously.

"Because a rogue like me doesn't make enough money to feed themselves on odd-end jobs when you typically only stay in a town for no more than a week, and I refuse to steal food. Doing that would be stealing from the people who work hard to sustain themselves and their families. Greedy rich bastards like him," you pointed to the building, "Could lose some cash and not be affected."

You jumped quickly from the roof of the building, landing soundlessly on the paved ground, and darted forward, hiding behind another building a few blocks down the street. You repeated this process a few more times until you were at the last building before the mansion. There was about forty feet seperating you from the huge gate and concrete wall.

'So the guards can shoot you out in the open,' you thought, having dealt with that strategy on several occasions. Looking around once again to check for people and security cameras hidden in the street (you'd learned about those a while back on your last mission), you turned and scanned the wall carefully for anything that might alert someone to your presence when you approached. After skirting around the perimeter of the wall, you'd discovered two places that the cameras weren't able to see. One faced the empty desert, and the other was facing a small alley. You decided to enter through the latter.

Vash watched as you scaled the wall and slipped over the top. He'd followed you via rooftop, and since he wasn't as used to free-running as you were, he'd managed to find himself a little winded.

'I gotta hand it to her,' he thought, using his knees for support, 'She's got some serious stamina!'

Not having anything else to really do, Vash sat down on the roof and watched the mansion for any signs of disturbance.


	5. Chapter 5

I know, bad Amaya, bad! Not updating since... I forgot, but whatever. Sorry!

I would like to thank everyone that reviewed/added this to whatever list they added it to. One person in particular (whose username I forgot, something to do with **Haz Haz?** - I'm horrible, I know T.T - ).

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 5**

Vash awoke with a start at the sound of gunshots and shouting. He sat up and looked over the edge of the building cautiously, handgun already out and ready. There were guards runnning about the inside of the wall, shouting back and forth to eachother with rifles and pistols in combat postition. Before he could stand up completely, he saw the girl's cloaked figure emerge from a window on the upper story and start running along the roof. Vash immediately saw the stains of blood on the white fabric as she reached the edge and jumped about ten feet to land on the wall's edge.

'Shit!'

Clutching the left side of your abdomen where a bullet had introduced itself, you lept off the wall and landed on the ground, not nearly as gracefully as you had done while entering the mansion. All your strength was put into pumping your legs to go as fast as they could as you focused on staying conscious. You could hear the voices of the guards still behind the wall; they were having to wait for the gate to open. Smirking, you made the most of the short delay and whirled into a narrow alley, looking for a large trash can or something to use as a booster. You found one just as the gates opened and the guards started rushing through, and with a grunt, jumped on top of it, then zig-zagged back and forth jumping from wall to wall and finally landing on the roof. Knowing they'd follow the blood trail you left behind, you denied yourself the rest that you desperately wanted and dashed forward in the direction of the abandoned building you'd made your home.

Managing to successfully clear the leap from the building you were on to the next, you legs began to buckle as you still ran forward. Your pace had slowed considerablely and your breath was ragged; you knew you wouldn't make it back at this rate.

**Thmp!**

You skidded to a halt, listening intently. Something was on the roof with you. Gazing in the direction the noise had come from, you stood in silence for a moment before you fell to your knees, your legs having finally given out on you.

"Nng!" Despite your best efforts, you were unable to get back on your feet. Staring defiantly at the approaching figure, you readied yourself for defense, and the breeze started picking up a little.

"Hey!"

Blinking in surprise, you squinted, trying to see better in the darkness. "Vash-san?"

"What happened?"

"I got caught."

"How?"

"I don't really know. I think he might have some new security systems or something."

"Damn, you're bleeding pretty bad! You need to get to a hospital."

"I have first-aid materials in my bag, I just need to reach it."

~Time lapse~

Sitting on your sleeping bag, you stroked the head of a dog that had decided to use your lap as a pillow. You and Vash had waited on the roof for the guards to pass, Vash had helped you walk back to the building you were in now by slinging one of your arms over his shoulder to prevent you from collapsing again. Although the wound from the bullet wasn't that high, Vash had still turned away politely when you bandaged yourself up.

"You know," you said weakly, "It's a good thing those guys weren't smart enough to think of searching the roof of any building."

Taking your statement as a sign that it was okay for him to face you once more, Vash turned and took a few steps forward before sitting cross-legged right in front of you. One of the dogs that had been woken up upon your arrival meandered over to the man and flopped down next to him, using his leg as a head rest.

"So," Vash started, scratching behind the dog's ears, "What're you gonna do now?"

Blinking, you looked up. "What'd ya mean?"

"You got caught, didn't you?" You nodded. "Then you failed?"

At this you smirked and reached behind you in the back of your cloak, where a hidden pocket was located just beneath the hood. From it you removed a canvas sack that was relatively full. "Not necessarily. Although I would've prefered to have avoided any complications, I still got what I went for, so I consider it a success for the most part."

Vash was silent for a moment, and you noticed how he was staring at the bag with an almost melancholy look on his face. Sighing, you threw the sack aside and closed your eyes, looking away. "Like I said, I am not proud of what I do; thievery isn't my idea of an honorable occupation. As you know, I can't get a job with anyone if I only stay in a place for a few days, and I can't really tell you why I have to travel so much aside from the bounty on my head. So I make what I do as right as I can in the short time I have in each place. For now, that's all I can do." Having said all you were going to on the matter, you removed the blood-stained white cloak and stood up slowly, careful not to agitate your wound.

"H-hey," Vash called, reaching out for a moment and standing, "You shouldn't really be..."

"Didn't I tell you?" you asked, then flashed him a thumbs up, "This isn't my first time getting caught! Besides, I'm just gonna wash this thing, nothing too strenuous."

'-_-; This woman really needs to learn to take it easy!'

Walking outside, you'd taken about four steps before you heard footsteps, and several pairs of them.

"Who's there?"

'Shit! They're here? They're better than I thought!'

You didn't have time to think of anything better than what you were about to do; the bloodied cloak was hastily downed just as the guards rounded a corner and saw you.

"Wha- there she is!"

"Halt!"

Of course, you did the exact opposite of "halt" and bolted for the nearest thing that would provide any sort of cover, which happened to be nothing more than a large piece of discarded wood. As soon as you rolled behind it the guns started firing, and you felt wood shrapnel bounce off of your body and leave several scratches as you scrawl-dashed toward the other side. Finally, after what seemed like ages, you reached the other side and flew out into the open.

**BANG!**

"Gah...!" 

**

* * *

Remember, I love reviews!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry this took so long coming out, I wanted to update this along with my other story at the same time, but things didn't work out. Partly due to the fact that, for some reason, I can't access my other story anymore; f***ing thing keeps giving me some "Error type 2" message...

Anyway, enjoy, and reviews are greatly appreciated.

* * *

Vash, at the moment, was petting the same dog that had approached him earlier, when he heard men's voices shouting, gun shots, and the girl give out a shout.

'Oh no.'

Drawing his gun and standing back up in one fluid motion, Vash quickly made his way to the window and pressed his back up against the wall that was beside it. Looking outside carefully, he saw three guardsman with their guns drawn and at the ready approaching the young woman, who had put her cloak back on and was kneeling on the ground. Vash ran toward the back entrance, snatching up the sack of money as he went, and clambered quietly up onto the roof. Kneeling down so as not to be seen, he aimed his gun into the alley behind all the guards and fired several shots, causing them all to jump and whirl around.

"Gunfire!" one shouted, the pointed at one of the other guys, "You! Stay here and guard this thief. You, follow me! It could be an accomplice!"

Once the search party was far enough away, Vash ran to the other end of the roof and jump down, praying that he'd aimed his landing right.

"Wha-!"

**Thud.**

Looking up, you saw that Vash was now standing right where the one guard had been; he'd landing on the guy and knocked him unconscious. Before you could say anything, Vash crouched down and slid your arm over his shoulders and hoisted you up, which caused you to cringe, but you put up with it.

"C'mon!" he muttered urgently, so the rest of the guards wouldn't hear, "We need to get outta here, fast!" With that, the two of you began making your way at a jog to where-ever it was Vash was taking you to; you decided it was either the hospital or another hiding spot. You did your best to keep up with him, but even with his help, you were stumbling more and more.

"Vash..."

He looked down at you worriedly. "Yeah?"

"How much farther...?"

"We're almost there, just a little m- hey!"

He caught you as you fell, so you didn't hit the ground. He looked around to make sure nobody was around, only to see someone's light go on and their door open. Panicking, Vash picked you up and took about two steps before they saw him.

"Vash-san?" they said, and he turned to look at the person, who turned out to be Mary. Seeing the distressed look on his face, she quickly realized something was wrong, so she turned off the light and beckoned him to hurry up and get inside before the guards saw him.

"Now what's going on?" she asked in a low voice, locking the door behind her. Then she saw your unconscious form in his arms, although she couldn't tell it was you due to the white cloak and hood overshadowing your facial features, and her eyes went wide. "The Moon Ghost?"

"Wait, wait, it's not quite what you think!" he said frantically, and slid the hood away from your seeing her friend's face beneath the hood of the notorious Moon Ghost, Mary gasped and covered her mouth in shock. For a moment it looked like she was going to cry, but then she looked down and saw the blood seeping onto the white clothing.

"Oh God," she whispered, "What the hell happened? Quick, bring her this way, I've got some first aid supplies." Mary led Vash through the kitchen and upstairs, then into the attic, where she laid down several blankets and a pillow before fetching her first aid stuff. Vash laid you down gently onto the blankets, and knelt beside you while while waiting for Mary to return. There was something that bothered him about you ever since he heard your story, and seeing you unconscious and bleeding out at an alarming rate, his troubled thoughts resurfaced.

'She said she had to move around because of her being the Moon Ghost,' he mused, staring intently at you as if it would help produce an answer, 'And that makes sense up to a certain point. Why can't she just stay in one city, and abandon her identity as the thief all together?'

"How is she?" Mary asked in a murmur as she carefully made her way up the ladder with an arm-load of stuff. Vash grabbed some of the supplies and helped her climb the rest of the way up. "Out cold, and she's bleeding pretty heavily. She got shot twice by the guards; once on the way back from the mansion, and the other when they stumbled across her hide-out when she walked out to wash her cloak."

"Idiot," Mary cursed, working on your abdominal wound first, "For as long as I've known her, she's always been reckless like that at times."

"Yeah!" Vash laughed, "I noticed that. Stubborn, too."

Mary had finished cleaning the wound with water and a cloth, and took out a bottle of disinfectant. "Sorry about this," she said, even though you couldn't hear her at the moment, and began to pour it directly onto the wound.

"Holy fumhnn fhint!" you yelled as Vash clasped a hand over you mouth. He also had to pin your arms down, since you'd just had one hell of a wake-up call and were relatively disoriented for a few moments, and therefore trying to defend yourself against what you thought was an enemy. However, you recognized his and Mary's faces and, after pausing to figure out where you were and why, you relaxed, although your pupils were still dilated from the stinging. "Sorry," you breathed haggardly, "S-sorry. You alright?"

"We should be asking _you _that!" Mary sniffed, smirking, "Well?"

"Oh, I'm just fine; peachy, really. Failing a mission, having pretty much the whole town's police and guards out for my blood, getting shot twice, and dragging two people in the middle of it, all in one night? Psh, nothing unusual." Mary let you know what she thought of your smart-ass sarcasm by yanking the bandage tighter than it needed to be, which caused you to wince. Mary then turned to Vash. "I need you to help her sit up, so I can tend to her shoulder." Vash complied and slid an arm carefully beneath your shoulders and waited for you to gather the energy to try hefting yourself up. You took a deep breath and used your good arm to take as much strain off of your abdominal muscles as possible, but the effort made you gasp and hiss slowly in pain.

"This is gonna hurt," Mary stated, holding up the disinfectant bottle.

"Aw, come...on..." you murmured, breathing heavily, "At least... let me... catch... my bre-Nngh!" God, it felt like she was pouring acid into the bullet hole in your shoulder! Then, from blood loss, exhaustion, and pain, you blacked out. **  
**


	7. Chapter 7

Vash looked at Mary with an accusing look as if to say "You could've been a _little _nicer about that".

"Well that's what she gets for not telling me about her being a wanted criminal, making me worry, and being a stupid and reckless smart-ass!"

Vash snorted in amusement, being unable to hold a grudge against Mary for her harsh treatment.

~Next morning~

You woke up groggy, stiff, and sore, and dreading having to explain things to Mary but knowing you'd have to. She'd taken you and Vash in knowing the authorities were after the both of you, and had sheltered you even after finding out who you were; explaining yourself was the very least you could do. Having come to that conclusion, you carefully let the ladder down and climbed slowly to the floor, then downstairs where Mary was.

"Hey."

"About time you woke up!"

You smiled weakly; at least Mary wasn't angry at the moment. At the moment she was in the kitchen apparently washing dishes, but she turned around to look at you when you entered the room. "Although you shouldn't be walking around after what happened last night," she added dryly, her gaze disapproving. You scratched the back of you head sheepishly, but didn't have the chance to reply, since the surprise of seeing someone else in there had distracted you.

"Vash-san?"

Vash was sitting on the couch in front of the coffee table, eating something Mary had made for brunch, since it was late morning. "The streets were packed with police and guards last night, so there was no way I'd make it back to the inn without trouble, so Mary let me sleep on the couch!" he explained, with a happy-go-lucky smile. You snorted with a smile, then winced and pressed you hand against your abdomen. Seeing this, Vash added, "She's right, y'know, you really should take it easy."

"Don't worry, I am taking it easy! Besides," you looked pointedly at Mary, "I guess I have some explaining to do."

"Don't worry about it," she said gently, "At first, I was upset, because I though you didn't trust me. But," she said, interrupting you as you opened you mouth to protest, "After I thought about it, I thought it was more you trying to protect me from getting into trouble. I talked to Vash-san about it, and he agreed. So I'm not angry at you anymore."

"Thank goodness for that! I'll be right back, I'm thirsty. Is it okay if I raid your cupboards for a glass?"

"No!" she snapped playfully, "You'll sit your butt down somewhere, and _I'll _raid my cupboards for a glass."

"But I don't wanna just sit and lay around all day!" you whined, "You know me, it's bad enough being stuck in a building this long! Not that your home isn't just lovely or anything..."

Mary sighed from the kitchen, "Ever the free spirit. Girl, I swear that even the wind would have trouble keeping up with you sometimes!" At this you smirked. 'You have _no _idea.' Then, you turned to Vash, and he adopted a formal sitting position with his back straight and hands on his lap, with what you figured was an attempt at a serious face that turned out to be just funny. You smiled, then bowed.

"I'm sorry for troubling you."

"Huh? Don't worry about it!" he replied cheerily, waving a hand. Then, after a few seconds, he looked at you and asked tentatively, "Um, are you alright?" At that point Mary also walked in from the kitchen with a glass of water, and looked at you strangely, seeing you were still bowing. "What's wrong?"

"..."

"Well c'mon! Say something!"

"Owie...T.T I can't straighten back up!"

Vash and Mary: Deadpan.

"How the hell is it you manage to keep yourself alive, anyway?" Mary asked, helping you stand straight.

"Sheer dumb luck and a lotta flukes, I guess XD. Um, you can let me go now."

"No," Mary protested, and proceeded to drag you across the room, "I'm not going to until you SIT DOWN" at which point she shoved you onto the couch "And STAY THERE." Both you and Vash cowered at the look on your friends face.

'Scary!'

Once she was certain you weren't going anywhere, Mary announced that she was going to make breakfast and headed off into the kitchen, leaving you to sit on the couch and be restless and in pain in the same room as Vash.

"So," Vash started, trying to start a conversation, "How long have you been known as the Moon Ghost?"

"Only a couple of years, but I've been on the streets since I was young. But I did have a part-time job at one point," you added, "But circumstances called for lots of travel, so I had to give it up."

"Circumstances?" he asked, puzzled.

"Remember when I told you that I can't remember my name?" Vash nodded. "Well, it's true. I either don't remember it or I never had one. But I'm sick of not knowing who I am or where I came from, so I decided to try to find out. Haven't had much luck so far, obviously."

Vash was silent for a few moments after that, and you closed your eyes and leaned your head back so that it was resting on the back of the couch. "Tired?" he asked.

"I didn't sleep worth shit last night," you replied bluntly, not moving. At this Vash gasped dramatically and exclaimed, "Such language coming from a lady!" You snorted. "Fat lot about me you know, then!" An easy silence fell after that, during which you left your head tilted back with your eyes closed, and Vash looked about curiously. That is, until you shot up and gasped loudly.

"What?" Vash exclaimed, flailing about spastically, "What's wrong!"

"The bag from last night!" you gasped, clutching your stomach, "I need to get it!"

"Oh!" Vash breathed in relief, smiling again, "Don't worry about that. Here." With that he reached into his coat and pulled out the very bag you were refering to, and tossed it onto the coffee table.

You smiled and sighed in relief, slouching backward again. "Thank you." **End chapter 7.**


End file.
